By Earl Zukerman
Former Olympic swimmer Richard Pound, who went on to a lengthy administrative career with the International Olympic Committee and served as McGill Chancellor from 1999 to 2009, headlines a cast of six new inductees to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame, bringing the list of the pantheon’s honoured members to 101.
Other honourees include Val St. Germain, a stellar offensive lineman from Ottawa, who played 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League, plus Tambra Dunn, a highly-decorated distance runner from St. Bruno, Que., and striker Brian Decaire of Beaconsfield, Que., who captained the soccer Redmen to a national championship in 1981.
Selected in the builder category is Bob Pugh, originally from Verdun, Que., who coached football and hockey and served 13 years as director of athletics at the University’s Macdonald Campus before embarking on a long career as executive president of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union.
Rounding out the slate is McGill’s legendary 1919 Yates Cup championship football team, which outscored their opponents by a lopsided 94-8 margin and featured a defence that did not concede a single touchdown.
The Sports Hall of Fame’s induction luncheon, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, officially kicks off the University’s Homecoming Week celebrations. Tickets for the event are $65 and can be reserved by contacting Kathryn Weaver at kathryn.weaver@mcgill.ca or 514-398-7002.
Submissions for future McGill inductions can be made by obtaining a nomination brochure from the Department of Athletics. A list of previous inductees can be found online at (www.mcgill.ca/athletics/varsitysports/athletes/hof).
The McGill Sports Hall of Fame opened in 1996.
NOTE: Detailed profiles of each new inductee will be available online each day this week at www.mcgill.ca/athletics.